The present invention relates to an air conveying device for a water-cooled internal combustion engine, having a fan rotor supported on the internal combustion engine by means of a fan rotor shaft. A belt pulley for a driving belt is located on the shaft and the fan rotor is provided with a peripneral fan shroud surrounding the outer ends of the fan blades.
Such an air conveying device with a fan shroud surrounding the fan blades on the fan rotor and connected to the blade tips is known from the German Offenlegungsschrift No. 2,826,697. The fan rotor is supported on the internal combustion engine by means of a fan rotor shaft, on which is located a V-belt pulley for accepting one or more V-belts for driving the fan rotor and other accessories of the internal combustion engine.
Changing a defective V-belt on a fan rotor with a peripheral fan shroud is frequently associated with substantial problems, depending on the length of the V-belt. Thus, for example it is only possible to change V-belts without difficulty if their diameter is greater than that of the fan shroud. In this case, they can simply be pushed over the fan rotor for insertion or removal purposes. On the other hand, a V-belt naving a diameter which is smaller than that of the fan shroud can only be changed after the complete fan rotor has been removed. Such a fan rotor removal process is associated with a substantial expenditure of time and fitting effort.
An objective of the present invention is to improve the aforementioned air conveying device in such a way that even belts with a smaller diameter than that of the fan shroud can be changed without removing the fan rotor.
This and other objectives of the present invention are attained in the provision of an air conveying device having a fan shroud which has at least one slot extending in the axial direction for inserting the belt and for slipping the length of belt which is positioned at the shaft-free end of the fan rotor over the fan shroud. As a result of the invention, defective belts can be changed without removing the fan rotor even in the case of fans with a peripheral fan shroud connected to the blades.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.